2024-09-27, 07:24 PM - Word count:
This league has some genuinely excellent branding. Honestly, there isn't a single organization whose branding I outright hate (cough, Lunar Base baseball wasting their potential, cough) and every team in the SSL has at minimum what I would consider good branding. However, there is one organization that I think has the best branding in the league, and may very well have the best branding in simulation sports. At both levels, their badges are clean, their color coordination is close without being so close as to feel uninspired, and the color combinations are aesthetically pleasing. Interestingly, one half of this organization is the newest team in the SSL: the Schwarzwälder Fußballverein. Equally interestingly, the other half of this organization is the older of the two teams, is the one in the lower bracket, and is on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and in a city that speaks two languages, neither of which is the language spoken in the Black Forest. It is both the excellence of the branding and the strangeness of the match between southwest Germany and Quebec that prompts my interest in this organization and makes it the subject of this article.
The Black Forest squad has a full page available going into deep detail on their branding logic and symbolism, while the much older Montreal team has only a work in progress google docs link that links to a spreadsheet of franchise records, not branding details, so I can only extrapolate Montreal's branding logic from looking at the logo directly.
While I admit much of my attraction to Schwarzwälder is based on my own personal history of living in a German-speaking country for about a year and a half all told, I love the branding on its own merit. Red and green are a classic complementary color pair that's rarely used in branding because of how jarring it can be when done poorly. However, using these colors as two highlights of a very dark gray base - almost black but just not quite, different enough for intrigue - maximizes the effect of the color contrast without letting it overwhelm the viewer's eye like green-on-red would. The only true diamond badge in the SSL also stands out in all the right ways: not a simple diamond with its pine-like flairs above and below, but not too complicated such that it loses its diamond identity and tries too hard. The modern crest is a perfect improvement upon the "original crest" showcased in the team info page.
I would also like to give personal props to the designers for doing their research on Fraktur lettering. Seeing someone else knowing that these are not some kind of "Nazi font" and were in fact banned by the 12 year murder-circus warmed my heart. Thank you, on a personal level, for using them properly.
And now we pivot to Monteal United. I confess that the frequent use of the "United" name is one of my personal footballing peeves (which clubs 'united' to form your club? Or are you simply ripping off Manchester?), but at least it isn't Real Salt Lake. Who on God's Earth is the king of Salt Lake City to give its team the appellation "Real", Brigham Young? Anyway, since this is an internet league, I choose to assume there is some in-universe reason for Montreal being United (perhaps an English club and a French club combined forces in season 2?) and pardon the use of the name. Montreal uses a color scheme I have a personal weakness for, dark blue-green and lighter greenish blue. Adding the metallic gold on top of that is the chef's kiss finisher to a beautiful fleur-de-lis emblem. Like the Black Forest squad, it's straightforward but not simple, elegant but not pretentious.
Combining the English and French sides of Montreal into one United squad could have lent itself to a UK-based partner squad or a France-based one. Perhaps even an American team, like a hypothetical New Orleans club, could have made a fitting partner for Montreal United. However, they chose the league's only German team, a team that operates in neither English nor French. At first glance, this seems a bit silly, but given the nature of Montreal United, it makes perfect sense upon reflection. The English players are not forced to become French, nor the French to become English. Together, they move to a third-language country and grow their skills along with their German. On paper, there are plenty of reasons this could go terribly, but in practice, it really is a united front that works out just as well as their logos do. I love both of these teams and hope to at least get scouted by them!
The Black Forest squad has a full page available going into deep detail on their branding logic and symbolism, while the much older Montreal team has only a work in progress google docs link that links to a spreadsheet of franchise records, not branding details, so I can only extrapolate Montreal's branding logic from looking at the logo directly.
While I admit much of my attraction to Schwarzwälder is based on my own personal history of living in a German-speaking country for about a year and a half all told, I love the branding on its own merit. Red and green are a classic complementary color pair that's rarely used in branding because of how jarring it can be when done poorly. However, using these colors as two highlights of a very dark gray base - almost black but just not quite, different enough for intrigue - maximizes the effect of the color contrast without letting it overwhelm the viewer's eye like green-on-red would. The only true diamond badge in the SSL also stands out in all the right ways: not a simple diamond with its pine-like flairs above and below, but not too complicated such that it loses its diamond identity and tries too hard. The modern crest is a perfect improvement upon the "original crest" showcased in the team info page.
I would also like to give personal props to the designers for doing their research on Fraktur lettering. Seeing someone else knowing that these are not some kind of "Nazi font" and were in fact banned by the 12 year murder-circus warmed my heart. Thank you, on a personal level, for using them properly.
And now we pivot to Monteal United. I confess that the frequent use of the "United" name is one of my personal footballing peeves (which clubs 'united' to form your club? Or are you simply ripping off Manchester?), but at least it isn't Real Salt Lake. Who on God's Earth is the king of Salt Lake City to give its team the appellation "Real", Brigham Young? Anyway, since this is an internet league, I choose to assume there is some in-universe reason for Montreal being United (perhaps an English club and a French club combined forces in season 2?) and pardon the use of the name. Montreal uses a color scheme I have a personal weakness for, dark blue-green and lighter greenish blue. Adding the metallic gold on top of that is the chef's kiss finisher to a beautiful fleur-de-lis emblem. Like the Black Forest squad, it's straightforward but not simple, elegant but not pretentious.
Combining the English and French sides of Montreal into one United squad could have lent itself to a UK-based partner squad or a France-based one. Perhaps even an American team, like a hypothetical New Orleans club, could have made a fitting partner for Montreal United. However, they chose the league's only German team, a team that operates in neither English nor French. At first glance, this seems a bit silly, but given the nature of Montreal United, it makes perfect sense upon reflection. The English players are not forced to become French, nor the French to become English. Together, they move to a third-language country and grow their skills along with their German. On paper, there are plenty of reasons this could go terribly, but in practice, it really is a united front that works out just as well as their logos do. I love both of these teams and hope to at least get scouted by them!
